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My gym has a very long cave-like section for bouldering that I have been getting better at navigating over the past few months. These kinds of problems involve careful foot placement, holding in your core, being able to move dynamically to catch large holds, and being comfortable climbing on your back the whole way. Cave…

Today would have been the 105th birthday of Frankie Manning, the ambassador of lindy hop. As I think about my 20+ years as a lindy hopper, I’m reflecting on all the things that this dance has brought into my life: a way to connect to jazz music I’ve always longed for, a bottomless well of…

Tonight on the spur of the moment I decided to head to Ocean Beach to try my hand at outdoor bouldering for the first time. I read last night about a couple of spots in San Francisco for bouldering, one of which was very near me. So I decided to check it out. There was…

I knew that working at KQED would make me famous! Here’s where it starts. On Tuesday, a story aired on KQED radio about tips for commuting to work by bicycle, in preparation for “Bike to Work Day” coming up soon. I was quoted a couple of times for my tips on riding a folding bike…

I’ve got a few accolades under my belt. But this award for best marching group at the Coney Island Mermaid Parade in 2001 might be one of my most treasured wins of all time. This was the astounding result of one of my few experiences as a dance choreographer, in the early years of the…

[NOTE: This was cross-posted to Yehoodi.com] “It’s like… a solo jazz mosh pit,” Pamela, a lindy hopper from Singapore , remarks beside me, looking out on the crowd. In front of us, hundreds of sweaty and happy people are solo jazzing like crazy to the sounds of the JB swing band, on day 1 of…

A a huge pastry nerd, a big priority for my trip to Paris last week was to get to experience French pastries, particularly croissants, from the source. I had a huge, impossible list of bakeries to hit up, but alas only got to visit a handful. Anyway, I experienced some amazing viennoiserie, and frankly don’t…

Being a big Disney park nerd, I was excited to get to visit Disneyland Paris this week, as part of my Paris adventure. This was actually the second time I had been to Disneyland Paris. The first visit was about 16 years ago, when it was still called EuroDisney. That visit was notable for how…

My three-year old iPhone decided to die earlier this week, which was pretty inconvenient. I’ve spent the last couple of days running around to different service and sales providers to figure out what to do. Here’s basically how that went. Best Buy Repair Person: Hey man, what’s up? Me: My phone isn’t turning on. Repair…